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She hurried to swallow, head shaking as she did. “Erin said she has a guy she’s been going to for a super long time. I’m not completely sure if Chase believed her, but he didn’t say anything. He just stared at us. Like, thisintensestaring as if he was waiting for something from us, and the longer he waited, the more discouraged he got. Then, out of nowhere, he shoved from the table and started storming out of the shop.
“Erin seemed really surprised and confused by the entire thing, but I followed Chase,” Harper said, then gave Brandon a meaningful look. “Which wasn’t long before you started calling. I asked what was going on, and he said, ‘I thought this would be it. The two of you—that’s what made everything fall apart. At least, in the memories that aren’t real, that’s what made everything fall apart. You hated that she was always at my station whenever you stopped by and that she only wantedmeto do her tattoos. You didn’t trust her at all, and I never listened to you. She’s what ruined usrightbefore the accident.’”
“So, was he just trying to see how you would respond to each other or—”
“He was trying to get his memories back,” I said over Brandon, and Harper pointed at me with her free hand. “That’s why he was watching them. He was waiting for it to jumpstart something.”
“He thought it would bethememory that would unravel all the rest,” Harper added.
“Okay, well, why didn’t it work?” Konrad asked as he gripped the back of the chair beside mine.
“Who knows?” I said as I thought over the possibilities in my head. “It could be because he has the wrong people. The few memories he’s gotten back have been when they’re causedbythat person. And he put Harper in my place, and Erin in—” I pressed my lips tightly together, stare falling as the words on the tip of my tongue taunted me with their truth.
He’d put Erin in someone else’s place...
Chase was right. If he hadn’t cheated on me,somethinghad happened withsomeonethat he’d been too afraid for me to find out. Something that had the ability to ruin us, if his memories were any indication.
“Chase is sure Erin worked with him,” Konrad began.
“As Trish,” I added.
“What?” he asked, and I could practically feel the question being echoed by the others.
“He thought Erin’s name was Trish,” I explained. “Which is just one more thing to make this that much harder to figure out because he’s remembered everyone else’s name. And we don’t know anyone with that name or a variation of that name.”
“Okay,” Konrad went on, drawing the word out. “But he’s sure he worked with her, and one of the things he said was that Harper hadn’t liked that Trish-Erin wanted only Chase to do all her tattoos. If what he’s trying to do is see someone or something that could potentially get back that one crucial memory, then I think he needs to be looking at work.”
Harper, Brandon, and I looked at each other before facing Konrad.
“You think it’sMarissa?” Brandon asked in a disbelieving tone.
“No,” Konrad said quickly, firmly. “I just mean,at work. He’s tattooed a lot of people. Who knows what he’ll find out or remember if he sits there long enough.”
“Oh my God.” The words left me on a horrifying breath as things began falling into place.
I hadn’t wanted to believe it, and yet, the clues were right there in front of me.
“Scarlet,what?” Brandon asked, sounding as if he’d been trying to get my attention. When I looked their way, Harper’s expression twisted with worry.
“Do you know who it is?” she asked gently.
“No,” I lied as I shakily stood, my head moving as denial twisted through me. “I mean, I don’t know. There’s never been anyone that I’ve complained about the way Chase said Harper complained about ‘Trish.’ But...”
I pressed a hand to my stomach as I thought back to the dozens of conversations Chase and I’d had about one person in particular. Always the same. Always ending with me rolling my eyes because I’d thought he was being ridiculous.
“I just don’t see why you think it’s weird,” I’d said during one of the many conversations about her. “Why wouldn’t she want you to be the one who tattoos her? You’re incredible.”
“Because I’d prefer it if she went to anyone else,” he’d said as he opened the door to our favorite coffee shop, letting me slip inside before he’d followed. “Anywhereelse.”
I’d turned to face him, a patient laugh leaving me. “Why do you hate her so much?”
“Scar...” he’d murmured, his eyebrows lifting in a way that said he didn’t know how I didn’tseeit. “I don’t understand why you like having her around.”
“Because she’s one of my closest friends,” I’d said, all reprimand, and gently smacked my hand against his stomach. “You need to be nice.”
“She needs to stop making appointments with me,” he’d said, refusing to back down. “Every few weeks, she’s in my chair, saying shit she really has no business saying. And it’s driving me to a breaking point.”
I’d paused at that because it’d been the first time he’d ever hinted at a true reason for not liking her. “Saying what?”
